Bike Gear: Head to Toe

Local shops share their favorite cycle togs.

HelmetFox Transition Helmet, $35“Fox Transition helmets are flying out the door right now. They are great for just knocking around the city and they don’t have a lot of those crazy vents on them, so they look pretty stylish. They come in all sorts of colors: matte black, military green, light green, silver, and blue.”

GlassesTifosi Vogel Fototec Photochromic Sunglasses, $70“The lenses are photo-chromic, so they adjust to different levels of sunlight. The Vogel style is just one large lens instead of two individual lenses, so aggressive cyclists won’t have their vision obscured by the middle piece.” —Vinh Do, Optics Salesperson at REI, South Lake Union,rei.com

ShirtPearl Izumi Elite LTD Short Sleeve Jersey, $99“It’s a fitted jersey with pockets on the back to store nutrition or water. This is the jersey for riders who want to do some hard riding, like they’re going to sweat and they want optimal breathability.” —Josh Clifford, Store Manager at Performance Bicycle, University District,performancebike.com

PantsEndura Zyme Shorts, $89 “You can wear a shammy [underneath] so you don’t look like you’re a member of the Lycra brigade, but you’re still comfortable on your bike ride. They’re cool because you can just get off your bike and grab a beer and people aren’t staring at you.” —James Wiker, Sales Manager at BikeSport, 5601 24th Ave NW, Ballard,ilovemybike.com

BagThe Sac by Linus Bikes, $65“For summer I would say the Sac. This tote/sac is a pannier. It hangs on the back rack but also comes with a shoulder strap as well as short handles.” —Juliette Delfs, Owner of Hub and Bespoke, Fremont,hubandbespoke.com

SocksSmartWool Cycling Socks, $13–$16“A lot of people think that wool is only for cold weather, but it actually does a great job of cooling and it’s great for warm weather. For a lot of people it provides less resistance in their shoes, so they experience fewer blisters in wool socks than in technical socks.” —Brook -Sillers, Owner of Speedy Reedy, Fremont,speedyreedy.com

ShoesGiro Prolight SLX Shoes, $350“The Giro Prolight SLXis incredibly light and fits like a slipper. It has a microfiber upper portion that isn’t leather, but it’s a very supple material. Once you break them in they basically are slippers.”

When cyclists started wrecking, one after another, on the South Lake Union Streetcar tracks, it looked like the growing pains of a city trying its best to get people out of their cars and into alternate transportation. But then a lawsuit raised questions